A master returns...

[Mantic Dorn]

The halls of the Jedi temple were slowly regaining some of its former vibrant life. While no way close to the days of old when all force users were drawn into the order recent times had at least maanged to keep a small but solid group of force users in the orders care and because of that the two men walking down the main hall did draw a few curious and excited young eyes toward them .

Mantic led [member="Carn Dista"] through the temple on Ossus. A location that most certainly was familiar to the large jedi master, at least in theory. The main temple on Coroucant now in the hands of sith Ossus had been the orders new head quarter for some time. but Mantic was unsure whether or not [member="Carn Dista"] had been part of the move or not.
Regardless, these were new times for the masters of old.

The two men stopped outside of the council chambers. Mantic had sent a message to the council that he was bringing Master [member="Carn Dista"] with him and that he wished to meet with the council. They would most likely be familiar with the name of the jedi master and it would naturally be off interest to see him restored as an active master in the order. Questions about his disappearance would however arise of necessity though. Where had he been, why did he leave active service and what had finally brought him back? They would most probably try to discern if he had any taint of the dark side in him as well. For a jedi who had been away for such length of time there was always a risk and or corruption. Mantic had not sensed anything but he was fully aware of that the master easily could have hid such darkness frmo him.
Regardless, Mantic had done what he could for now and he would have to step down and let the council and the master come to a conclusion on the matter as for now.

He turned to the secretary stationed by the door.

"Would you please inform the council of that Master [member="Carn Dista"] has returned to Ossus and is requesting an audience for re-admittance into the ranks of the jedi order." he asked with a polite nod.

He then turned to Carn by his side.

"Regardless of the outcome of this encounter Master, I must say it was an honor to meet you." he smiled and motioned for the sofas near the door. He was not expecting to enter with him. The affairs of the council and the masters was not for him. but he would remain outside should there be some need for questions directed at him directly.

Spoiler

[member="Varus Shatterstar"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Mak Manto"] (others in the council?)

 

[Corvus Raaf]

The Council had been disbanded by Corvus’ predecessor. It was as much symbolic as anything else. All Jedi were equal – they did not need a small group of their number to tell them what to do.

But prior to Manaan she had drawn up plans to resurrect it and following her capture, the Jedi had put her wishes into action until a new Grand Master could be chosen.

Since then, Corvus had seen three of their number leave. And those that remained met rarely – typically to discuss Dark-siders that wished to be redeemed.

So she wondered if [member=Kian Karr], [member=Phylis Alince] and [member=Ryan Korr] would be available to make the meeting. Corvus, of course, was. The Council Room was a short stroll from her office.

She bowed to the two waiting outside the entrance. Mantic she knew well and the other she knew by reputation. Who didn’t?

“Don’t just stand there,” she said to them both, smiling, pushing the door open. “And can we have a couple of extra chairs please,” she said to the Jedi who currently presided over the running of the Council’s diaries and meetings.

So she walked in to find the seven chairs arranged in a circle (she’d immediately changed it from a horseshoe once she was named Grand Master – they were equals after all) – and reflected on the three empty seats and their former incumbents. But only for a second.

She took up her usual seat. “These are pressing times and not all may be present. My advice therefore is to start and they’ll catch up. They always do.”

[member="Mantic Dorn"] | [member="Carn Dista"]

 

[Carn Dista]

[member="Mantic Dorn"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

Ossus. Some things never changed. The Jedi, time and time again returned to their most ancient of worlds, seeking to rekindle the fire of righteous justice that lay dormant within them. Mantic's thoughts were correct - Carn had been here many times, and likely, he would come here many times over before becoming one with the Force. Still, despite the unchanging face of the Temple itself, there was a... lacking about it. An emptiness. His companion hadn't been wrong when he had told him of all that had befallen the Jedi. Infighting. Splitting. Petty rivalries flaring into factional disagreements that sew nothing but dischord through the Order, and by extension the Light. He had seen it before. He hoped to never see it again. Hope is a fools errand. He had learned, bitterly, not to trust in hope, but instead take solace in action - it was action that had brought him here, and action that would prove if the Jedi were as Mantic had said. Carn had remained mostly silent while journeying to the Temple, as his body, reeling from the lack of alcohol he had imposed upon himself during their trip from Zeltros had a deep ache set into it. I have survived worse. The thought came without effort, a mere flight of fancy across his mind. Still, he ached none the less, regardless of past wounds healed.

"Regardless of the outcome of this encounter Master, I must say it was an honor to meet you." Mantic had said to him. Likely he meant it - many had said the same to him, yet truthfully it meant little to Carn. Such things to him were better left unsaid, yet it would have been impolite not to reply on some level.

"Hrmph." came the bitter reply. Honor, in Carn's mind, was reserved for battle, for warriors. He had yet to cross blades with Mantic, or see him defend himself in the heat of combat. "Perhaps one day." He didn't feel the need to say more - It wasn't that he didn't respect the Knight. He had respect for many beings, but he had learned to reserve bestowing honor. After all, if one gave the highest accolade to all, there would be no merit to it. Still, here they stood, infront of the Council's chambers. And then came Corvus herself. His gaze immediately snapped to her, his face a mixture of stoic determination and steely wrath. This wasn't something he had put on simply for the Grandmaster - au contraire. This was simply how the years had postured his face. He took in what he could about her before she presented herself vocally. From what he had learned, she was Corellian, and had survived the great sundering of her homeworld. This marked her as a being that could endure great hardships. Yet she was young, he could see it in her face. While she had undoubtedly seen horrors, Carn gauged that she was less than thirty, perhaps in her late twenties. Someone so young at the head of the Order. It spoke dire words to him. Wisdom did not always come with age, yet when she spoke, he could pick up hints of... something. Perhaps it was his thoughts about age, or perhaps it was truly there, yet Carn judged it to be a hint of uncertainty. It felt to him like she had confirmed it by admitting she was unsure if the others would show. How interesting.

Stepping into the circle of chairs, Carn neglected to take a seat. He was no longer of the Council, therefore like all others that intended to speak with the Order's leaders, he would stand in the center of the chamber. His hands slipped forwards into the deep sleeves of his robes, taking up the traditional diplomatic stance of the Jedi Order, and he inclined his head to the Grandmaster in a respectful nod. "Grandmaster Raaf, I assume?" His voice was measured, calm, and collected - a trait he had learned well from his years of service, and most certainly a way to conceal any pre-conceived thoughts he had.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

With a grumbling sound [member="Carn Dista"] had declared that he perhaps one day would acknowledge honor in Mantic. He smiled to himself. While Mantic was no master he had seen enough to recognize the trait of a seasoned warrior. It was that weapon soldiers often used to not get attached to rookies. It was dangerous to get attached. True to the trooper, true to the jedi of this chaotic time.

He spoke no more as he sensed words from him was not of interest at this point. As the grand master herself appeared, flowing through the hall way he rose from his chair and bowed deep. He had expected to be seated outside but she had invited him and he would not refuse the head of the order.

He stepped inside the chambers and remained standing at the far end of the circle where the two masters were positioned.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Carn Dista"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus looked at the two in front of her and smiled. Some sat and some stood, it was always about what was comfortable for the individual.

"Indeed," she said as the Jedi she recognised as Master Dista spoke. "But I prefer to be called Corvus. My predecessor set a great deal of store by extolling the fact that we are, essentially, equals. Something I have continued to champion."

So looked at one and then the other. "So, details of why an audience has been requested are sketchy - but since you're here you can tell me in person." Her voice was calm and friendly. Her demeanour welcoming. She'd been a Jedi for over two decades so far and had regularly been underestimated to the point where she saw it as an advantage. She measured people in deeds, not words or reputations. She was frankly surprised others didn't follow suit.

[member="Mantic Dorn"] | [member="Carn Dista"]

 

[Carn Dista]

[member="Mantic Dorn"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

Equals. A fine notion. Carn grumbled internally at the idea that all Jedi were made equal - if that is so, he wondered, then why have the Guardians not swapped their sabers for holocrons? Sure. The Jedi were equal in the eyes of the Force, and Carn suspected that this was the true meaning behind her use of the word, but in terms of the Order equality was only measured between peers, and even then it was subject to the ancient hierarchy that their spiritual ancestors had lain down their lives for. Besides. Carn saw no reason to become so... informal with the Grandmaster this soon. First names, like honor, were reserved for the times they were needed most. He paused after she admitted to her lack of knowledge on why exactly he had requested an audience, but this he had expected - To Mantic, he had revealed little of his thoughts on the matter. This, given all that had befallen him in years prior, had proven to be a much wiser approach when communicating with the Jedi Council. After all, if they knew every little detail there would have been little need for them to see him, and a great deal less of a chance for him to get a measure of the true backbone of the Jedi Order.

"Why I am here. Heh. A part of me thought it would have been obvious, Grandmaster Raaf." Again, he used her full title. Blunt formality was a verbal weapon that he had cultivated well, and more often than not he deployed it to keep things on topic. "From what Master Dorn has told me, the Order has been fractured by a myriad of foolish ideological battles, the Republic has been ripped from its seat in the heart of the Galaxy and displaced across a string of worlds, and we are beset on all sides by hostile actions set forth in motion by those who would seek to plunge more than just the center of our allotted space within the stars into a broiling sea of death, despair and disorder. Quite simply, what brings me here is war." Carn waited for a little time, allowing the weight of his words to settle into the stillness of the Council Chambers. "As for the reason for the request? Your young Knight has seen fit to attempt to bring me back into the fold. It would have been most discourteous of me to disregard his efforts." This was a far cry from the disorganized mess of a human that had inhabited Zeltros for so long - Indeed, if there was any particular notion that Carn was nothing more than a washed up drunk, he sought to dispel them in a ferocious form.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

He remained partly passive during the conversation due to his status, despite that the gran master did declare them equals. She knew him well enough to recognize his stubborn traditional angle on this but he also felt obliged to speak up since h was the one partly responsible for this meeting.

He took a step forward.

"It is as Master Dista has described. I traced his whereabouts and followed him there trying to persuade him to return to the order for active duty. I sense how our order is clearly in need for such masters who has not yet fallen from the light. It is, as you know, my belief that we can restore the jedi to what it once was. Or at least try Grand Master." Mantic took a deep breath. He knew that if [member="Carn Dista"] had fallen he could have hidden it from Mantic. He did not possess that power of the force. And while he was not young, the force grew slower in him. But he was experienced as a person of his age and his natural "guts" told him that [member="Carn Dista"] was worth the gambling of bringing him here.

"Grand Master, there are few knights, and even fewer jedi masters who teach the code the way it need to be taught in order to restore the balance that is cast off in favour of this great chism in our chaotic galaxy. It is my hope that Master Dista will serve the order for that purpose."

[member="Carn Dista"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

He used her formal title again. Corvus did not mind as it was always down to personal preference. But she would similarly continue to refer to him by name. For the tenet of conquering arrogance was one she regularly taught the Younglings. A Jedi Master was only a Jedi Master because she had disregarded her own sense of self-importance and embraced the will of the Force.

But her views on equality were not the topic of discussion and both Jedi in front of her were worthy of one-hundred percent of her attention. One she knew personally and was confident would grace this very room one day. The other she knew of by reputation and was a fine Jedi in his own right.

“If you follow the Code and serve the Republic, you have a place in this Order for as long as you wish. It is not for me to grant permission nor decide if you are worthy of acceptance. Only you can do that. If there is truth between your heart and the Force, then you are a Jedi I am pleased to call a member of this Order.”

“And what keeps me here is peace.” She waved a hand symbolically to indicate the Academy. “I am sworn to guard civilisation, to use the Force for knowledge and defence. Wars do not make one great. But at times we must fight for what we believe in and sadly those times are upon us now.”

Her voice was calm, barely more than a whisper but carried around the large room.

“The greater good is our goal. If that is delivered by us, or any other Order, it is by and large irrelevant. But before I seem too ungrateful, I welcome you back, if you ever truly went away.”

“As for Mantic here, I appreciate his efforts and his heart is more certainly in the right place. And if you needed anyone to vouch for you, you could not have picked a finer fellow.”

“Which is all starting to sound a little formal,” she said smiling. “Tell me what you need from me and we’ll see about making it happen.”

[member="Mantic Dorn"] | [member="Carn Dista"]

 

[Carn Dista]

Peace. Peace was a lie. There was only... War. War, destruction, ruin, death, plague. The Galaxy was suffering, and she spoke only of peace. His nose twitched ever so slightly, and he extended a hand to run his fingers through his beard, untangling parts of the small knots that afflicted it on a daily basis. Still. Her morals were sound enough - she was certainly a Jedi through and through. A little... wishy washy for his tastes, perhaps, but a Jedi none the less. Not as presumptuous about his purpose as Knight Dorn was, but no two Jedi were ever the same, and he wouldn't begrudge them that. What did strike him was how her calm voice filled the room despite being quiet - the mark of a being that was listened to when they spoke, for certain.

​

“Tell me what you need from me and we’ll see about making it happen.”​

Carn fell silent for a short while, contemplating exactly what it was he'd request from the Grandmaster. The answer was simple.
"I require a small, spartan lodging close to the archives. Also, should we still have access to one through the Republic, a fully complimented carrier, the bigger the better, and a small group of volunteer Jedi to come with me - No more than five, none of them fresh Knights and certainly no students. I intend to launch a crusade of sorts against the Sith, and, if possible, return others who have stepped away from the Order to the fold."

[member="Mantic Dorn"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic felt a sting of pride. [member="Carn Dista"] had confirmed his hopes, and if he was true to his word he would be drawing more jedi, true to the order, to join. Mantic felt pride since he sensed he had been the drop that now maybe would cause ripples far larger then the drop itself.
Although he quickly burried thise emotions he was not about to ignore them either. He was not above his feelings, on the contrary. But it was within his training to keep it under control.

While the two masters discussed Mantic remained still and passive. He was of the old teachings where rank mattered. It was out if respect for the rank, not the person that he stayed true to refering to them as superiours. He did not grant this title to anyone claiming the title either - it was to be earned not taken for granted. But these two jedi was in Mantics eyes very much deserving.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Carn Dista"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus continued to listen.

“All of our rooms are spartan,” she said with a smile. “We are Jedi after all. And I’m sure the Republic can provide a suitable ship although…another Jedi has requested exactly the same thing.”

“My answer to both of you is yes, but perhaps you may consider joining forces? Her name is [member=Ella Nova] and given you are both looking for Jedi to support you, it may work in your favour to work together. But that is entirely your call.”

“So I’ll say to you what I said to her. Any Jedi that wishes to follow the Code and serve the Republic is welcome. It is no more complicated than that.”

[member="Mantic Dorn"] | [member="Carn Dista"]

 

[Carn Dista]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Mantic Dorn"]

He nodded. It was enough - his intentions had been made clear, and she had responded with an answer that was fitting. He turned and took his leave, the words had been said. Now it was time to put plans into action - Ella would be contacted. The Republic Navy would also be reached out to, and he was certain he would hear about his quarters being prepared in one way or another. This, decidedly, was yet another turning point for Carn - although this time it was a turning point back to a familiar ground. Mantic had paved the road, Corvus had shown him the door. All that was left was for the Republic to turn the key, and with the Grandmaster's blessing it was likely to be a simple key to turn. He shifted his weight onto his heel to turn curtly and made his exit in silence from the Council Chambers. Much to do, there is.